PhotoLinker

XMP Sidecar Files

A sidecar file is an alternative to storing the metadata directly in the image file itself by instead storing the data in a separate .xmp file with the same base name as the photo. Sidecars are typically used in cases where the file format of the photo doesn't directly support embedding metadata or in cases when the image file should not be edited directly. It should be noted that very few programs support the reading the xmp sidecar files, most will default to reading and writing to the photo directly.

To change the settings for how PhotoLinker handles sidecar images:

Choose PhotoLinker > Preferences.

Select the Photos tab.

In the Save Options box select an option for handling sidecar files.

PhotoLinker provides four different options for handling xmp sidecar files.

Photo Only - PhotoLinker will only read and write directly from the photo.

Sidecar for raws, Photo otherwise (Default) - This mimics the rules followed by Adobe products by embedding the metadata directly in to DNGs, GIFs, JPGs, PNGs, PSDs and TIFFs. A sidecar is used and created for all other file types.

Sidecar, if exists, Photo otherwise - If an xmp sidecar file is present then the sidecar metadata will supersede the photo's metadata for reading and only the sidecar will be written to. If no sidecar is present, then PhotoLinker will only read and write directly from the photo.

Sidecar Only - PhotoLinker will only write to sidecar files. If no sidecar file exists, the photo's existing metadata will be used to generate a new sidecar file.

Photo and Sidecar - PhotoLinker will attempt to write all metadata to both the photo and a sidecar file. If no sidecar is present, then a new sidecar file will be generated. Metadata read from the sidecar file supersedes metadata read directly from the photo.